The Pragmatic Programmer

The Pragmatic Programmer

I’m reading through the Pragmatic Programmer and I’m considering the tips on investing in your knowledge portfolio. I’m in school working on a computer science and engineering degree, but it seems most of our coursework is in C++ (which I got a programming certificate in in the mid-90’s). I’ve concluded that I need to be learning other languages concurrently with my program.

Which languages are essential? What are the new languages to consider taking a bet on?

I’d say not so much “languages” as “ways of thinking about programming”. You have some familiarity with C++. Pick up some quick and dirty scripting language, and at least a passing acquaintence with the LISP family. If your path leads you towards hardware, you may want to learn some assembler. If you are interested in web programming or games there are sets of languages and tools for those fields.

Just to get a feel for what’s available, you might want to look at Pragmatic’s 7-in-7 series of books.